'Pretty Little Liars' Recap: The Show Makes Me Want to Read the Books

The girls found a tube of used lipstick in the closet. Ew.On Episode 5 of Pretty Little Liars -- my favorite new summer guilty pleasure -- things came to a head for our fearful foursome, as the communications they received from their dead pal A got ever more invasive. (New here? Think Gossip Girl from beyond-the-grave.)

One thing I've noticed about the show? The girls are all gorgeous, but they're gorgeous in a healthy way.

If this were a Gossip Girl or any other show on the CW, really, they'd all be stick thin. And no doubt, one of the dirty little secrets the girls were harboring would surely be an eating disorder. But here, they're all healthy, at least physically -- and so are the moms on the show, played by the likes of Laura Leighton, Holly Marie Combs, and Nia Peeples. (In fact, ABC Family's other summer debut is Huge, a fat camp dramedy that stars Nikki Blonsky and a bevy of other heavyset kids. Which makes it arguably the only scripted show of its kind on TV.)

Advertisement

Anyway, there were still plenty of secrets spilled in this week's episode, as things with A -- their dead pal Allison, presumably -- got even stickier. Let's see, this week A used lipstick on a mirror, text messages, IM, and good old-fashioned mail to spill secrets and taunt our heroines.

Aria (Lucy Hale) and her English teacher Ezra Fitz (hottie Ian Harding) got closer when she went to watch him read some of his poetry at a cafe -- but his college bud was on to them, which put some strain on the budding couple. Then, just as they got over that mess, Mr. Fitz found a text message from A about the two getting cozy. Which means he's just about ready to call the whole thing off. Meanwhile, there's still trouble at home, too, because a note from A informed Aria's mom Ella (Holly Marie Combs) that her dad Byron (Chad Lowe) is cheating on her.

In fact, Hanna (Ashley Benson) got an IM with the pics, so she's trying to talk to Emily about it without being intrusive. But she's also been digging around at work, where she spied blind Jenna (Tammin Sursok) -- another A possibility -- go into a secret room. Turns out it was just her shrink's office.

And finally, over-achiever Spencer (Troian Avery Bellisario) met a hot new boy at the tennis courts, where she practiced her ass off for a match her doting (or not) dad asked her to throw. Anyway, she gets her vengeance on papa by telling him her prize-winning history essay, which made him so proud, was actually stolen.

But the girls have more worrisome matters on their mind, because A -- whomever he or she may be -- is not above peeping in a window or hiding in one of their bedroom closets, which is where they find that used tube of Jungle Red lipstick, A's favorite shade.

You know what that means? Things are about to get really creepy. That kind of makes me want to pick up some of the books to get a sneak peek at what's next.